Cheesy Baked Gnocchi with Tomatoes and Sausage
This Cheesy Baked Gnocchi with Tomatoes and Sausage is a hearty, simple dish, perfect for a weeknight or a special meal.
Any time our oldest daughter orders from a restaurant menu that includes a gnocchi dish, you can bet that gnocchi will end up right in front of her. I can foretell her order before it leaves her lips.
I never grew up eating gnocchi. Heck, I didn’t even know what it was until I moved out on my own. But with the help of our daughter’s love of these lovely little potato dumplings, I’ve been making up for lost time.
At home, we most like to pan-fry gnocchi in butter, and then serve it simply with a sprinkling of flaky salt and a grating of Parmesan Cheese, fresh from the wedge. But I decided to change things up this time around, and made a hearty, extra-cheesy dish that could be popped in the oven. This Cheesy Baked Gnocchi with Tomatoes and Sausage is comfort through and through. And it comes to you Hatti-approved.
* This is a sponsored post, created in partnership with Red Gold®.
The rich, flavorful tomato flavor in this dish comes from Red Gold Tomatoes.
Red Gold offers a large variety of tomato products, from sauces to diced options to ketchups to salsas…and so much more. In this recipe, I used their Whole Peeled Tomatoes for chunky texture and their Tomato Paste for rich pumped-up tomato flavor.
Red Gold tomatoes aren’t just family owned, they’re also family grown…for over four generations. Sustainably grown on Midwest family farms, these tomatoes are the highest-quality, freshest, best-tasting tomatoes. You’ll find the entire backside of the can label devoted to all the things Red Gold cares so deeply about, for their own families and yours.
I took the Red Gold Challenge last year, comparing Red Gold Whole Peeled Tomatoes with another major brand’s. The results left no doubt in my mind about which tomatoes I wanted to use in my own cooking. With every can of Red Gold tomatoes that I continue to open, I am met with the same excellence: vibrant red, firm tomatoes, with a natural garden-fresh flavor.
I opened a can of Red Gold Whole Peeled Tomatoes and poured them out onto a plate. Do you see how they are intact, plump and firm?
Then I opened up a can of whole peel tomatoes from another leading brand that I found on the store shelf. It’s not hard to see that almost half of the tomatoes are mushy and torn, with pieces of peel still clinging to the tomatoes or swimming in the juice.
In this recipe for cheesy baked gnocchi with tomatoes and sausage, I wanted to show off those beautiful Red Gold attributes. I sliced whole peeled tomatoes into 6 pieces each, adding bite-size pieces of rich tomatoes to the dish. This gave the dish a much different texture than using tomato sauce or even the smaller diced tomatoes. And my family loved it!
Another thing they loved? (Besides the gnocchi, of course.) That ooey-gooey melted mozzarella. I don’t even try to resist its temptation.
Cheesy Baked Gnocchi with Tomatoes and Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 lb. package gnocchi
- 1 lb. Italian sausage
- 1 large shallot diced
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 3 T. Red Gold® Tomato Paste
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 28- oz. can Red Gold® Whole Peeled Tomatoes each tomato sliced in half lengthwise, and then sliced cross-ways 3 times (you will have 6 pieces per whole tomato), with juice
- 1 c. halved yellow cherry tomatoes
- ½ tsp. sugar
- ¼ c. chopped fresh basil
- 1 T. fresh thyme leaves
- 1 T. heavy cream
- 12 oz. fresh mozzarella torn into pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Spray an oven-safe baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Cook gnocchi according to package directions in salted water, just until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- While gnocchi is cooking, prepare the tomato/sausage sauce. In a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, cook sausage, breaking it into bite-size pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula. After sausage is broken up, add diced shallot. Stir regularly until sausage is almost completely browned. Then add garlic and cook for another minute or two, or until sausage is done. Stir in tomato paste, salt, and black pepper, and cook for another minute or two, until tomato paste is fragrant. Add sliced peeled tomatoes and their juice, cherry tomatoes, and sugar, stirring to combine. Bring sauce to a simmer and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in heavy cream, basil, thyme, and cooked gnocchi.
- Spread half of the gnocchi mixture onto the bottom of prepared dish. Top with slightly less than half of the torn mozzarella. Top with remaining gnocchi mixture, followed by remaining mozzarella. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until gnocchi mixture is bubbling and cheese is melted. Then place dish under broiler for a few minutes to brown the cheese.
- Remove from oven, sprinkle with additional fresh herbs if desired, and serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
For more deliciousness with Red Gold tomatoes, here are a few more recipes featured on a farmgirl’s dabbles:
- Slow Cooker Beef and Sweet Potato Soup
- Taco Tater Tot Hotdish
- Cheesy Pizza Soup
- Spicy Italian Tomato Grilled Cheese Dip
- Smoky Tomato Deviled Eggs
Be sure to check out Red Gold on their website. You can also find them on social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
This post is sponsored by Red Gold. I am happy to be partnering with them again this year, bringing you delicious recipes bursting with fresh, rich tomato flavor. All opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make this site possible.
This was utterly FANTASTIC!!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe … yum, yum, yum!!!
Wonderful to hear – I’m so happy you liked this! Thanks for letting me know!
This is a comfort food dish winner! And those tomatoes you used look so perfect and delicious!
It surely is. The last time I made it, it was barely gone and the kids were asking when I was going to make it again. Thanks, Taylor!
Gnocchi is always a great idea! I love the way you prepared it! Such great comfort food!
I’ve started to make sure I always have some gnocchi on hand. It’s always a welcome meal. Thanks, Gina!
Well, your daughter is brilliant because gnocchi is the best. :-) This looks like the ultimate comfort food.
I’ll pass that along to her. :) Thanks, Brian.
What a perfect weeknight dinner for the entire fam!
It really is. When the kids walk in from school and BB practice, to see this on the table, all is good with the world. :)
Delicious!! I don’t eat gnocchi much, but this recipe gave me some inspiration to make it.
Thank you, Carlos – nice to hear from you!
Hey girl- this looks so delish! Yummy!
Hi Shawnna! Happy Weekend to you!
I adore anything made with gnocchi too! Love that you added it to a dish with lots of cheese and tomatoes. Red Gold tomatoes are the only ones we buy and use too! I love knowing every can will have fresh plump tomato goodness in it!
I remember doing the Red Gold Challenge last year and being completely stunned. I even left the challenge out on the counter, for my husband and daughters to see when they got home. I love their products, all of them! Thanks Jocelyn – have a great weekend!
So I remember falling for gnocchi at my parent’s restaurant when I worked there in high school. I may have had it before as a child at home, but I specifically remember ordering it “off the menu” after one of my shifts one night and they were pretty much hard to resist after that. My kids LOVE gnocchi too. They got hooked on them at Olive Garden (the soup) and it is such a treat when I make gnocchi for them at home. I am absolutely making them this dish. They will love it! Those tomatoes are gorgeous and I love how you used whole tomatoes in the recipe and cut them yourself.
I wish I could have been your next-door friend back then, visiting your family’s restaurant with you. And eating all the gnocchi!! Happy Friday, Aggie!